Community water providers and planners routinely seek low cost methods and systems for providing water which achieve the needs of the communities they supply. Recently, to counter greater demands for water in areas of increasing population, water providers have begun considering methods and systems which reduce demand. This demand-side approach is proving itself to be less costly than the costs associated with increasing the water supply.
Demand-side water management can also enhance the water quality in areas where ground water withdrawal draws salt water, or pollution from landfills and toxic-waste cites, because it generally reduces the rate of seepage of contaminants into the wells. Surface water quality is also improved by reducing the need for new dams and diversions which add to salinity problems.
As is clear, demand-side management generally reduces water usage benefitting both water suppliers and consumers. A particular benefit of demand-side management is that it reduces potable water usage, both residential and commercial, providing large cost savings. Potable water is particularly costly as its source must be reliable, and it must be treated to potable quality, heated, pumped, and later treated again as waste water.
Therefore, a need exists for more efficient and beneficial demand-side fluid management equipment to reduce water consumption. The fluid management system must also be reliable, easy to use by the consumers, and inexpensive so that it will be accepted by consumers interested in using their resources more wisely and saving money. Such a fluid management system would be even more useful if it prevented water leakage from a broken water line thereby preventing interior damage within a house or building. Therefore, a fluid management system which minimizes water damage resulting from a break in a building's water line, and also monitors water use for overflows, malfunctions, and out of range conditions would more effectively reduce the danger of leakage or breakage and would act as a powerful tool in water management and conservation.
One particular fluid flow control system which lends itself for use in the fluid management system of the present invention is the fluid supply control system disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,563, incorporated herein by reference, which significantly reduces the leakage of water into a home or building when a break in a water line occurs without having to be switched on by the homeowner or building supervisor.
A benefit would be provided by a fluid management system which operates with my fluid control system and utilizes fluid flow sensing information to limit and control fluid flow at the various fixtures of the fluid supply system to protect against overflows and malfunctions. A specific benefit would be provided if the fluid management system provides a water manager with the ability to place definite time limits on the amount of time a fixture or water utilization device is allowed to consume water before the fluid management system automatically closes the main water supply. A further advantage would be provided if the water management system related to a water manager information on the level of usage of each fixture or water utilization device within the supply system.
A further benefit would be provided by a water management system which monitors the supply system for freezing temperatures and automatically shuts down the system and harmlessly drains the portion of the system in danger of freezing to prevent damage to the fluid supply system and resulting damage to the building or structure. A further benefit would be provided if such a system monitors the leakage of the supply system, and either periodically repressurizes the system if the leakage level is acceptable or shuts down the system if the level of leakage becomes unacceptable.